IPL: Apna Sapna Money Money...

Bangalore: Team India star players are set to rake in huge moolah for featuring in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a T20 league slated to begin this April.

According to an estimate Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Yuvraj are expected to pocket close to Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore in just one season of 59 match-days.

However these stars will have to play for their home teams in the inaugural issue: Tendulkar for his amchi Mumbai, Ganguly (Kolkata), Yuvraj (Chandigarh/Mohali) and Dravid (Bangalore).

The fab-four, will not figure in the players' auction scheduled on Feb 8, are likely to get 15-20 per cent more than the most expensive player earns thro' the auction process.

The likes of Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya, SRK, Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia, among others, will bid for players for their respective teams.

The IPL franchise owners' shopping spree will be telecast live on Set Max.

Industry sources estimate that the other Indian players like Gambhir, Zaheer, Pathan, Uthappa and Sreesanth will command around Rs 40 lakh for a season while the swashbuckler from Jharkhand, M S Dhoni, is likely to bag a Rs 1 crore deal.

Overseas players are expected to rake in between Rs 1 crore and Rs 1.5 crore each season.

The teams have a lot to choose from. Among the galaxy of international stars to play in the IPL will be Shane Warne, Lee, Ponting, Gilchrist, Hayden, Malik, Akhtar, Jayasuriya, Pollock and Fleming among others.

It is mandatory for all the franchise to include local talent in their squads. Young regional players may earn close to Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, said sources.

Franchise owners are bound to spend $50,000 on each player and a total of $3.3 mil on entire squad in the inaugural season.

Invest, wait and grab: Franchise owners who spent tens of millions to outbid the others in fray, know the huge potential this event has in Indian market. They were aware of the fact that they will really have to do some spending in the initial years.

"T20 will not be a profitable venture in the initial years as it will take at least two to three years to break even, if the calculations are done on the base bid price of US$50 mil for 10 years. But, thereafter, it has huge potential in the Indian market," the source said

The franchisee earns revenue thro' two sources: The primary source is centralised revenue under which falls the title sponsorship, media right and official umpires' sponsorships. And the second source has got to do with team naming rights, team shirt sponsorship and ticketing revenues.

One estimate says earnings from the sale of different rights are not going to exceed more than $8 million (Rs 320 crore) in the inaugural year. So, the franchisee will really have some spending to do in the first year after winning the bid. But, thereafter, it has huge potential in the Indian market...